Tuesday, January 15, 2013

DIY : Upscale a Dollar Store Tray (With Matching Journal)

Dollar Store Bar Ware
I might have to start calling Mr. C, Mr. B. He’s become an aficionado of small batch bourbons (not to excess!)

I don’t mind because I get all kinds of cool bottles to play with. He mentioned the other day that he saw an online bourbon journal but it only allowed 5 entries until there was a charge for it, so I decided I’d go old school and make him a hardcopy journal. He’s also into watches and time pieces, and I already had some very cool clock themed paper in my stash. Win-win since I’m working to bust some stash this year.

DIY Bar Tray Supplies

For this project you will need:
1.) Dollar Store Silver Tray ( I got mine @ Dollar Tree)
2.) Pre-made (or make your own) chipboard journal….This was on sale after Christmas at Michaels for $.25! A whole quarter. Cheaper than making my own.
3.) Coordinating charms to match your paper of choice. These were NOT on sale at Michaels but they were $2 for the pack and totally justified given the $.25 journal ( which I may or may not have purchased more than one)
4.) Embellishments. In this case I had these Tim Holtz game spinner thingies in my stash. So my total cost was $3.25.

I cut my watch themed paper to fit the inside of the tray. Applied Mod Podge to the tray, applied the paper and finished with two coats of MP.

Dollar Tree Silver Tray

Mod Podged Dollar Tree Tray

Before Christmas we saw some high end barware at Macy’s . Gorgeous, but $$.  I like my price a lot better!

Bourbon Journal and Tray

For the journal, I covered two pieces of the chipboard ( it actually comes w/ four pieces but I’ll use the other two for something else) with the watch paper on one side and some number themed paper on the other. Mod Podged these on. Went around the edges with some aluminum tape.

I had a chipboard tag in my stash which I left naked and applied a scrap of the watch paper to, then edged with black ink.  I added one of the watch charms (one of four from my $2 package so this was $.50), and an antique embossed monogram sticker I had in my stash.

Bourbon Journal and Tray

To finish off the journal, I added some of the game spinners to the watch hands on the paper.

Dollar Store Bar Ware

Just gives it a little dimension. I cut the inside pages to size from paper I had on hand, and put on the ring that came with the journal ( added some ribbon on hand just cause) and done.

So now Mr. C or Mr B or whomever I’m married to , has a place to display his current favorite find, as well as keep track of what he likes, doesn’t like, etc. about them.

Barware Tray

If adult beverages aren’t your thing, you could easily adapt this for any kind of theme from coffees / teas, flavored syrups, olive oils, balsamic vinegars or just cause you want to decorate a tray!


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6 comments:

Unknown said...

Nice job. Looks so high end.

Roxana White said...

Awesome! I love the paper and charms :) Like you said, it is such a great idea for many things. We recently got a Keurig; I like the idea of a tray and journal to keep track of which coffees we like best. Pinning this!

Our Hopeful Home said...

Beautiful! He's a lucky guy. My husband and I used to make beer "B.C." Yes, that's before children. So it's been a few years. But let me tell you, this idea rocks! Love it.

Unknown said...

Love the tray and journal! Pinned this to my "Tray ideas" board on Pinterest! :) You did a great job of making this look very masculine. Love it!

Ruth said...

It is awesome. I love this little vignette!!
Ruth

Unknown said...

Love this! What a great inspiration. Thanks for sharing.